Triumvirate
by LaurielS
Summary: Star Trek Beyond: What if McCoy got more than just a gash to his forehead? This series of short shots using ST:Beyond as the backbone for the story looks at the interactions between the triumvirate as they escape the planet they crashed onto. Spoiler alert for ST: Beyond (obviously). Friendship only.
1. First: Escape

**Triumvirate**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just my own ideas.

Author's Note: This story consists of shots of events from Star Trek: Beyond, so spoiler alert!

I'm also a fan of the interactions between Kirk, Spock and McCoy from the original series, so I'm trying to get a balance between their chemistry in TOS and in this timeline.

 **First: Escape**

McCoy slid tiredly into his seat, grimacing as he fastened the seatbelt over his broken ribs. He wasn't sure how long it would be before he punctured a lung (and the strain earlier must have done something), but as he looked around, he knew the risk was worth it.

Together, they've rescued everyone from their cells and was now on their way back to Yorktown.

Hopefully. If the physics allowed it.

He wasn't quite sure of the entire situation (having not majored in engineering, after all), but from what he could gather, they would need to reach terminal velocity to actually take flight. That clearly meant that they would need to actually have some way to travel and accelerate to that speed.

And considering that this ship was literally wedged in the mountainside near a cliff…

He decided he didn't really want to know how this terminal velocity was going to be reached.

If they died, well, at least in his afterlife he could tell Jim "I told you so", although apart from this, he couldn't think of how else he'd be able to derive satisfaction from being dead. He would very much like to be alive, thank you very much, but remembering once more that his life was now in the hands of two young crewmates (man, he was getting old), he decided that it was probably fair to be prepared for the worst.

The intercom next to him flickered, disrupting his string of thoughts that was becoming more and more disturbing. "Bones, how's the crew?"

"Well I could do with a functional MedBay, but as of now I think we're fine," he said, sweeping across the room to make sure that everyone was strapped up. With that, the intercom closed, which meant the whole acceleration thing was starting soon.

He gripped his chair tighter. His breathing quickened, but the sharp pain from his ribs once more reminded him that if he didn't calm down soon, he'd be giving the ship a medical emergency that would take attention off this whole reaching terminal velocity thing.

Better not puncture a lung then, he thought wryly.

Suddenly, he felt the whole ship shudder, and they began to move forwards slowly. Then, the whole ship seemed to tip, and they soon reached a speed much faster than before. He didn't need to look out of the windows to know what was happening.

Yes, this was exactly the way he thought Jim Kirk would attempt to reach terminal velocity.

 _-To be continued-_

Reviews and comments are very much welcomed!


	2. Second: Flight

**Triumvirate**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my own ideas.

Author's note: Thanks for those who reviewed/ favourited/ followed this story! Here's the next bit :)

 **Second: Flight**

"You want me to do, WHAT?!" Bones stared at both Spock and Jim disbelievingly.

 _Tell me that I'm in a dream. That all this is not true. That I'll wake up to having two feet planted on the ground._

"Come along, doctor," came the flat, business-as-usual voice which unfortunately sounded very real indeed, because McCoy was sure he will never dream of Spock.

How can this VULCAN be so damned CALM on this "away mission" (as he so termed it)?

 _Fear of FLYING, Spock, goddammit! And now you want me to join you on this thing we just crashed?_

His chest throbbed even thinking about it.

Bones looked at Jim, who was smirking and not helping at all.

"Whoa, wait a minute…" he started as Spock made his way to the transporter, before the truth suddenly hit him, "Why you green-blooded ingrate, this was your idea!"

"It's a good idea, Bones."

If looks could kill, Jim Kirk would have been incinerated at that very spot. _Damn you, James T Kirk, I can't deal with this even when I'm well, let alone with broken ribs!_

 _You are definitely going to get a physical once we are through this thing._

With that thought, McCoy turned once again to said ungrateful Vulcan who was repaying his kindness with this nonsense. "You know, next time you have a piece of pipe stuck in your transverse, call a plumber!"

But of course, neither Jim nor Spock paid attention to him, the poor, old Chief Medical Officer.

"Make sure you find a way to break these things," Jim said to Spock, who was looking utterly confident.

"If it gets heady I'll beam ya straight back." –And now even SCOTTY is ignoring him. The next time Keenser called in sick he'll let Scotty know the power of the CMO.

"Energise."

 _THIS IS REAL. AND I DON'T EVEN GET A SAY IN THIS?_

"It'll be great!" came Jim's amused voice.

Leonard McCoy was decidedly not amused.

"DAMN IT JIM, I'M A DOCTOR NOT A –"

Annoying, both of them, McCoy thought, as they materialised in the pod and took over the controls. But really, he reflected as he mounted the pilot seat carefully and attempted to fly the craft, he couldn't think of a life without them.

 _-To be continued-_


	3. Third: Rescue

**Triumvirate**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just my own ideas.

Author's Note: Thanks to those who reviewed/ followed my story! (Shout out to the author for I'm a Doctor, not a Ninja :) : Thanks for making my day by reviewing-I love your stories! Yeah, I'm not much of a writer, and I fear being long winded when I drag a scene out, so I guess I haven't found the right balance yet)  
This one's a bit longer though. I deviated a bit from the movie to fit the story better.

 **Third: Rescue**

When Bones heard what Jim was going to do, he didn't know whether to scream at him for being an idiot or hypo him into oblivion for his hero complex.

Maybe a little bit of both.

Of all the stupid things that Jim Kirk could get himself into, of course he had to be trapped with a madman in a compartment that was either going to kill him via a large fan or by being sucked into space.

Well, there's also the possibility that he might get out of there all well, but considering the luck that Jim's had, he was pretty sure that that wasn't happening.

As the seconds started counting down, he knew Jim wasn't going to make it either way, but part of him knew that if anything, Jim would not be sucked into the big fan.

Because that would mean that that device would be sucked in too, killing everyone in Yorktown.

And Jim would never allow that to happen.

He flew towards the transparent compartment, his breathing faster than ever as he gripped the controls tightly. His nerves were in a wreck when he realised how hard this was going to be, and a brief glance at Spock told him that he was very much in the same situation, regardless of how he may claim to have no emotions or what not.

A spasm wrecked his chest as his lungs protested at the misuse, and he suddenly fell into a coughing fit only controlled by his own will. The last cough, however, left a metallic tang on his lips, and he suddenly realised what had happened.

He had finally punctured a lung.

Dammit not now!

His breaths suddenly turned quick and shallow, but never once did his eyes leave the window before him, watching Kirk's every move.

Jim needed him. And he will not leave his best friend when he needed help.

He dug his fingernails into his palm, willing to stay awake and just BREATHE as he watched Kirk trying to release the catch. His heart skipped a beat when he saw Edison trying to attack from behind, before Jim kicked him to the device, and he finally held a breath as he saw him trying to attack again when Jim had almost succeeded—

Before he knew it, the window was opened, and the device was sucked into space, with Jim holding on with all his strength.

"NOW, DOCTOR!"

He didn't need to be told twice. Immediately, the intercept course that Spock had plotted came in, and they dived towards the opening. They were almost there when the panel which Jim had clung onto came off and he lost his grip, flying freely into space, much to McCoy's horror.

He wouldn't, couldn't see Jim Kirk die again. Once was enough.

Please, please don't let them be too late.

* * *

An impact at the side of the ship told them that the intercept course was correctly plotted (of course, this was Spock, couldn't expect less). Spock reacted immediately and opened the door, only catching Jim at the last second. Both pulled heavily as McCoy tried to drive the shuttle away from the space and back towards town again. Indeed, so intent was he at piloting the shuttle that he did not hear the shutting of the door, and only realised what happened when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

A human hand.

Jim was safe.

Relief flooded him and as the adrenaline fell away, the tiredness and breathlessness came in, reminding him of the strain he had put onto his body.

"Finally decided…to join the party, you… self sacrificing moron."

He could see Jim smiling smugly at him, although his face was still a little white from the shock. Well considering that a minute ago this guy was going to die from being ejected into space, he'd say that he looked pretty darn well.

"Well, someone's got to be lucky," yup, that is Jim Kirk, complete with that cocky smile.

He was coming back with a retort when the scene before him began to blur as the air suddenly felt too thick to breathe. McCoy could see Jim's face shifted into concern, and he wanted to say something but was too busy gasping for air.

"Jim… Spock... Jo…" he struggled. Breathe, he thought, just breathe.

Another spasm, and he coughed again. Blood landed on the controls and onto Kirk's shirt, speckles of red amidst the gold.

Blood. Bones' blood.

Bones patches him up after he does stupid things. Bones shouts at him when he misses a physical. Bones rants at him about flying in a tin can. Bones does all of this, but Bones doesn't get INJURED.

And Jim completely freaks out.

"Bones? Bones! Spock! Help!"

McCoy felt a hand supporting him as he collapsed, fighting for the much needed oxygen. As he tried and failed to fight the darkness that was enveloping him, another worried face seemed to come in, but that could be a hallucination for all he knew. The last thing he heard was a panicked shout and someone pulling him, and he knew no more.

-To be continued-

Reviews and comments are welcomed!

Yes, Jo stands for Joanna :)


	4. Four: Holding On

**Triumvirate**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my own ideas.

Author's Note: Wow, that's a lot of reviews! Thanks so much for all your very, very kind reviews, as well as those who followed/ added this story to their favourites.  
Shout out to reviewer ThePro-Life Catholic: thanks for the kind review and thorough feedback! Well... I won't spoil the fun by revealing all my inspirations ;)

Here's the next bit of the story! I'm sorry the chapters are short :( I'm trying my best!

 **Four: Holding on**

"Spock! Help!"

When it became apparent that the doctor was unable to hold up much longer, Spock had taken it upon himself to remove the doctor from the pilot seat and onto the back platform of the pod on—all in a very logical manner, of course. If Kirk had been less distraught, he would have noticed the faint crease in Spock's features, and the gentler-than-usual way which Spock had helped the doctor out of the pilot seat.

But Jim's attention was fully on Bones now—his best friend who had rescued him from death, now possibly dying in front of him.

"Spock, is there anything, anything we can do?"

"Unfortunately, Captain, there are no adequate medical supplies on this pod to help with the doctor's situation, and neither of us are medically trained. As I am well acquainted with this vessel, I suggest that I take over and land as quickly as possible."

"Do… do that, Spock," Jim swallowed, wishing he could just do SOMETHING rather than watch his best friend wheezing like there's no tomorrow, "and be quick."

There are certain advantages to being a (half) Vulcan, and being able to understand and adapt to situations quickly was one of them. Within a few minutes, Spock had the pod under his control and began to look for a place to land.

It was then that he heard a sudden gasp from behind him, followed by sounds of shaking. He did not have to look to know what must have happened.

"Bones, Bones! I beg you, please, breathe!"

They were racing against time. Spock had made contact with a hospital and alerted them to a medical emergency, as well as with the control station to get a place to land, but the chaos created just now was working against them as the control station tried to coordinate everyone and clear any space they might have.

A bleep came through the communicator, and Spock felt his heart leap irrationally. "We have secured a space, Commander Spock."

 _Would there be time?_

Spock did not know. For once, Spock did not dare to calculate any probabilities.

* * *

Spock was a masterful tactician—even at the most desperate moments, he can calculate the risks involved and make the best decision.

Jim Kirk, however, was a fighter, and though he too is a good tactician, the one trait that made him stand out was his audacity to stand to a challenge and fight.

And when his friends' lives are at stake, that's when Jim Kirk won't even think to stop fighting.

"Bones… don't you dare give up!"

 _Is that how it's like to see one's best friend die in front of you? Was this how it was like to see him die in the radiation chamber, all those months ago?_

Gosh, it hurts so badly.

"Don't you dare die! Think about your daughter—what will happen to her?! And us; all of us who care about you!"

 _Don't you dare leave us..._

But McCoy was oblivious to all this now as his heart finally gave up pumping blood, since not enough oxygen was coming in from the lungs anyway. As Jim saw the rise and fall of the chest gradually lose its rhythm, what hope he had slowly died as he felt the pulse weaken under his shaking hands. He did not dare to let go of his firm grip on Bones' hand, fearing that once he let go, he would lose his friend forever.

Jim didn't realise when the aircraft landed with a bump; neither did he hear the opening of the shuttle doors. Indeed, reality only hit him when two medical personnel entered and started prying him away from Bones to triage him.

"Captain, please, let them attend to the doctor," Spock's ever rational voice rang through the chaos and finally reached Jim.

This time, Kirk listened to an order.

 _-To be continued-_

Reviews and comments are welcomed!


	5. Five: Together again

**Triumvirate**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my own ideas.

Author's note: Thank you to everyone who's been reading my stories so far, and many thanks to all those who've reviewed/ followed/ added this story to their favourites! Reviews are very much treasured, so do keep them coming!

With that, here's the final chapter (before a possible epilogue):

 **Five: Together again**

White.

Everything was white around him.

The first thing McCoy was conscious of when he came to was someone holding his arm, and the impossibly bright glow shining into his eyes.

"Jim?" he mumbled, squinting against the white light, trying to see something.

The yellow blob to his right jumped, and Jim's blurry face came into view.

"Hey, you gave us quite a scare there."

Jim. The yellow blob that had resembled a ball of light finally took shape.

"We… landed?"

"It is good to see that your injury has not affected your ability to state the obvious, Doctor."

Bones' head snapped up at the voice, instinctively coming up with a retort. He almost sat up on his bed in agitation before regretting his impulse immediately as the pain in his chest started to throb.

"I'm not rising up to the bait you—wait, Spock?" McCoy faltered, as events of the past few days sank in, "Spock's here as well? Spock you should be resting you pigheaded Vulcan you almost punctured—"

"And you punctured your lung. Not funny, Bones, you were out for quite some time."

"Well, someone has to save your sorry ass. Wouldn't do to allow the first captain I have fully under my care die, eh?"

Seeing Jim's solemn expression, McCoy knew he had probably scared Jim out of his wits this time (which was perhaps good payment for Jim's never ending stunts as Captain of the Enterprise), and sobered.

"I must have been out for long, huh."

"Five days, Bones. By the time we could manoeuvre the pod and get you down to the hospital your oxygen saturation was so low you almost went into cardiac arrest."

Jim remembered it as if it were yesterday.

The fluttering pulse.

The whirring of the ambulance.

The sudden haemorrhage from a previously undetected wound at the chest cavity that had opened up when they tried to move him.

Almost went into cardiac arrest was an understatement. Almost died is the truth.

It was too close.

"Don't… don't do this again, Bones," was all Jim could say as his mind replayed those moments again and again, as they had for the past few days. His hand closed around Bones' arm even more tightly, as if to reassure himself that his best friend was really still here.

McCoy had a feeling Jim was not telling the whole story (partly because with current medical technology, almost going into cardiac arrest does not warrant five days of unconsciousness), but seeing the distress Jim was in, he decided not to ask anymore. "Hey, calm down Jim," came McCoy's physician-mode voice, "I'm still around." A pause, and then, "besides, do you really want to hear the hobgoblin announce how illogical this entire scene is?"

This had the desired effect of calming Jim down as Jim choked back a laugh amidst his unshed tears.

"Spock was really worried, Bones. You should have seen how fast he landed the pod."

"Emotional, Spock?" asked McCoy, his eyebrow raising as he turned to the Vulcan First Officer.

Spock faced him like a true Vulcan, his face as impassive as ever. "Indeed not, doctor. I only had to hurry as it would be highly inefficient to lose the ship's Chief Medical Officer."

McCoy gave a short laugh; that was probably the closest he would ever get Spock to admit to his emotions. "Well, I'll get what I can."

A small ring from Jim's PADD caught everyone's attention. Jim frowned as he accessed the message inbox (which was currently cluttered with many unread messages from Starfleet Command, if Bones saw correctly), before breaking into a wide smile.

"Aw Bones, Joanna's asking for you!"

At that statement, however, what little colour Bones' face had drained. "Does Joanna know…"

"No, we didn't tell her," at that, McCoy heaved a sigh of relief as Jim continued, "but once you recover, we are going to take a break, and I'll personally write a letter to bring your little girl to you."

Kirk had rarely seen McCoy smile (he's convinced Bones is too busy being grumpy most of the time), but this time, he was rewarded with the brightest one he had ever seen.

"Tell her I'm well," came McCoy's whisper as the effect of a fresh round of drugs kicked in, "don't let her worry."

Jim nodded and didn't say more, and neither did Spock, but the look in McCoy's eyes and the soft squeeze of Kirk's hand told Spock he knew and appreciated their concern. As his body decided he had had enough stress and excitement for a day, McCoy slowly drifted back to sleep, and for the first time in many days, Spock saw the worry on Jim's face lighten.

Many say that Jim Kirk cannot be shaken, that he had the courage (and the audacity?) to do things he felt was right, regardless of the consequences. But really, as Starfleet asks more of him, they forget that he too, is a human. That Jim Kirk, too, is afraid of many things. He is afraid of losing his crew, afraid of losing his ship, and, most of all, afraid of losing his friends. Spock was sure he would never forget the fear in Jim's voice as he held and tried to wake an unconscious McCoy, who was gasping for air like a fish out of water, and who, more alarmingly, had seemed to give up trying to breathe just seconds before they landed. Would never forget Jim refusing to let go even as McCoy was wheeled into the operating theatre, and only unwillingly agreed because Spock's injury had worsened whilst trying to restrain him. Would never forget waking up to Jim and Nyota by his side after Jim had 'cleared' his checkup ("Captain Kirk, please cooperate with the medical team!" one of the doctors had huffed in exasperation, according to Nyota) whilst he had undergone a proper surgery for the wound near his heart.

Jim's eyes met his and he smiled, before finally lying against his visitor's chair and falling into a dreamless sleep, the first in many days. As Spock prepared to meditate, he realised that perhaps his Human half was right all this while— they needed each other, and with the three of them, they can reach heights others can only dream of.

 **-End-**

There may or may not be an epilogue.

Reviews and comments are much loved and welcomed!

Special thanks to all who took the time to review throughout this story: Eva, my constant supporter in several stories, Cris, Fetherhd, DancingInTheDark85, Space-Age Scribe, anonstfan, The Pro-LifeCatholic and the anonymous people.


	6. Epilogue

**Triumvirate**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except my own ideas.

Author's note: Here's the epilogue! Just a sweet, fluffy chapter, really. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it, and thank you for all those who've reviewed/ followed/ added this story to their favourites.

 **Epilogue**

"You really want to head back out there, huh."

Jim didn't say anything and merely took a sip of his champagne as he stared out of the window.

The three of them—the heart, the mind and the soul—were together again, and the only one thing they were really missing right now is the body.

The _Enterprise_.

Currently being refitted in front of them.

Things were finally back to normal. Spock was back to his stoic self, Bones' crankiness had returned (Jim couldn't describe how happy he was just to hear Bones say "space worms, viruses and bacteria and cosmic anomalies that could wipe them off in an instant"), and there was a certain chemistry between Spock and Bones that Jim knew would continue into their next voyage.

A brief glance at his watch told him it was about time to reveal the highlight of Bones' five year voyage. He gave Spock a look, who gave an affirmative nod that the star of the show had arrived.

"Well Bones, I have a small surprise for you as well," Jim said, beckoning McCoy to follow him.

McCoy raised his eyebrow, hands automatically reaching for a tricorder that was usually in his pocket, only to remember that they were on shore leave on a Star Base. "Surprise? Jim, this better not be some hidden injury I don't know about."

"Oh come on, Bones. I'm not such a troublemaker.", dammit

The eyebrow arched further… before the eyes landed onto a small child, roughly eight years of age.

"Daddy!" the girl left the grip of her grandmother and ran towards McCoy.

"Jo!" McCoy bent down, ready to catch the flying girl. He winced a little as the girl collided into him, but covered it up immediately. Once safely in his arms, the little girl burrowed her head on his shoulder and sighed, "I've missed you so much, daddy."

"I've missed you more, my little girl," was all he could say before his emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

To join Starfleet had been one of the best choices of his life, but there was always a twinge of regret that he was missing all the milestones his daughter was quickly passing. Not only that, being in space meant that he couldn't be there when his daughter needed him, needed his encouragement and needed his love. He couldn't even fight to be with his daughter more often…

But the little girl in his arms seemed oblivious to his train of thought as she let go of her grip around his neck and looked at him, beaming. "I'm so glad you're here, daddy!"

He ruffled her hair lovingly and turned round, just in time to see Jim pouting. "What about me?" said Jim, in a rather hurt voice.

"Hi Uncle Jim! Hi Uncle Spock!"

Despite all his regrets, though, he had to say that joining Starfleet definitely helped him to connect more with his daughter, seeing as his wife had only grudgingly agreed to their reunion after Jim had one day not-so-subtly suggested that he would throw his full weight if she still refused to let his daughter contact him. A passerby now would never have thought that capable of Jim, however, as the grown up had started arguing with the eight year old in his arms over something inconsequential.

"…Right, daddy?" came Jo's voice.

"Wait, what?" came McCoy's very coherent reply.

Joanna rolled her eyes and huffed in a very McCoy manner, earning a smirk from Jim. "I said that blue shirts look better than gold shirts, but Uncle Jim said otherwise."

Ah.

Of course Jim would be arguing about shirt colour.

"Well, Jo, different people wear different shirts. You gotta be smart to wear a blue shirt."

Jo's ringing laughter was well worth the indignant look that Jim was giving him. Spock's poker face remained throughout the entire conversation, although he was sure he was thinking about how illogical this entire scene was.

"Now now Jo, get down, your father's getting tired. You're not a small girl anymore," came his mother's voice.

"Mom, I'm fine," McCoy protested, pulling the little girl closer to him.

"Yeah sure you are, young man, you didn't even notice your mother standing right in front of you for so long."

…Oops.

With that, the young girl scrambled down and ran over to both Jim and Spock and gave them a small hug each. It took all of McCoy's control to not laugh at Spock's confused expression as Jo looked at him, expecting a hug back, and then at Jim's attempt to catch Jo as she hid behind the Vulcan.

A young girl, a Vulcan and an illogical Captain. What a sight to behold.

Suddenly, Jo ran back to McCoy's side and tugged his hand. "Come on daddy, bring me around to meet your other friends!"

Watching a smiling Bones bring his daughter and mother around, Jim knew he had made the right decision and shared a knowing look with Spock, who merely inclined his head.

Yes, this was definitely worth all the paperwork to bring the little ray of sunshine here.

 **-End-**

Reviews and comments are welcomed!

For the TOS-lovers out there: I have another Star Trek series planned but I'm not sure when I'm writing it... but it might not be any time soon. It's also Bones-centric. Keep a look out!


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